A manufacturing machine for rod-shaped articles of this type includes a wrapping section. The wrapping section forms a rod-shaped article by continuously wrapping a filler material, such as cut tobacco or a filter material, in a wrapper as the filler material and the wrapper, along with an endless garniture tape, pass through the wrapping section.
More specifically, the garniture tape runs sliding on a forming bed that forms the lower side part of the wrapping section, while the filler material and the wrapper run sliding on a plurality of forming molds that form the upper side parts of the wrapping section. As the manufacturing operation of the manufacturing machine is speeded up, therefore, the respective traveling speeds of the garniture tape, filler material, and wrapper also increase. The sliding contact of the garniture tape with the forming bed and the sliding contact of the filler material and the wrapper with the forming molds generate substantial frictional heat in the wrapping section, thereby overheating the wrapping section.
Overheating of the wrapping section shortens the lifetime of the garniture tape. More specifically, manufacture of a conventional garniture tape includes a process of connecting the opposite ends of a band made of linen fibers, a process of applying an adhesive agent to the band, and a process of then hot-molding and elongating the band to a given length. Therefore, overheating the garniture tape lowers the bond strength of the adhesive agent between the linen fibers. Thus, the lifetime of the garniture tape is supposed to be shortened as the tensile strength of the garniture tape is quickly reduced to an allowable level or below.
More specifically, if the manufacturing machine is operated at manufacturing speeds of 4,000 cigarettes, 8,000 cigarettes, or 14,000 cigarettes per minute in the case where the manufacturing machine is applied to the manufacture of cigarette rods, the garniture tape has lifetimes of 12 to 16 hours, 6 to 10 hours, or 3 to 6 hours, respectively. Thus, the higher the manufacturing speed of the manufacturing machine, the higher the frequency of change of the garniture tape is, and the lower the operating efficiency or production capacity of the manufacturing machine is.
If the filler material is cut tobacco, moreover, overheating of the wrapping section positively causes the flavor and taste of the cut tobacco itself to worsen.
The object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing machine for rod-shaped articles, designed so that a wrapping section in the manufacturing machine can be effectively prevented from overheating if the manufacture of the rod-shaped articles is speeded up.